Bourbon Update

Two bits of news on the Bourbon Front. First, Buffalo Trace was inundated last week:

At a Friday news conference in the parking lot of one of the state’s most popular bourbon producers, officials reported many of the buildings were flooded and a full-scale cleanup is underway. Buffalo Trace Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley, who has been in that role for 20 years, briefed reporters on recovery efforts. In the distillery’s 200-plus year history, Wheatley noted Buffalo Trace has survived several floods, but this latest disaster was “one of the most severe that we’ve seen…”

Distillery officials said they are inspecting barrels for damage and contact with floodwater, and do not have a number on the possible barrels affected. The process is expected to take several weeks. Staff had moved some barrels of bourbon to upper floors ahead of the prolonged rain event. They do not expect any meaningful loss of inventory, Wheatley said.

If you follow the industry and the process you’re well aware of how the handling, placement, and storage conditions of the barrels can change the flavor of bourbon (two barrels made from the same recipe but placed in different parts of a non-climate controlled warehouse will taste *much* different after six years). In the past Buffalo Trace has turned problems into opportunities; when a tornado tore off part of the roof of a warehouse a few years back it exposed a selection of barrels to different climatic conditions, creating new flavor and a new marketing opportunity.

As for the more existential threat to the bourbon industry:

Mr. Trump’s sweeping tariffs have kicked off a trade war that many American businesses long feared. The European Union announced plans to impose 50 percent tariffs on all American whiskey in response to Mr. Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, prompting the president to threaten 200 percent tariffs on European wine and other alcohol if the bloc followed through. Canada has also imposed 25 percent tariffs on American whiskey, and in some provinces, brands including Jack Daniel’s have been pulled from store shelves.

D-Day on those tariffs was pushed back from April 1 to April 13, and last week appears to have been postponed entirely. Evidently the French wine industry is pretty important to Macron.